Drillers: Fracturing Rock Poses No Danger


Washington, PA Observer-Reporter
9 November 2009
By Christie Campbell, Staff Writer
chriscam@observer-reporter.com

As more drilling for natural gas occurs in the area, residents are voicing concerns about environmental effects, especially the viability of the water supply.

But the industry is quick to point out its methods are safe, and not one case of water contamination has been reported from hydraulic fracturing, even though the process has been used for 60 years to drill 1 million wells.

"In essence, it's a safe process. It's well-regulated, and it has minimal environmental impact," said Matt Pitzarella, spokesman for Range Resources, a gas drilling company operating in Washington County.

To extract natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation, a procedure called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracing," is employed, forcing millions of gallons of water under high pressure deep into the shale bed, causing tiny cracks in the rock that allow gas to be released for capture.

Chemicals are used to aid the process. Unlike some drilling companies that consider the chemicals proprietary, Range Resources has made public its additives and the volume used. Pitzarella said the company uses four chemicals in the fracing process: polyacrylamide, glutaraldehyde, ethylene glycol and ammonium bisulfate.

And while the names may sound imposing, "every single additive we use is part of our daily life," said Pitzarella.

Laurel Ziemba, public affairs for CNX Gas, explained that because horizontal drilling is about 8,000 feet below the earth's surface and the typical aquifer is no more than 200 feet below, there would be little chance of a water well being contaminated by a fracturing agent.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2004 concluded there was no evidence that hydraulic fracturing used in coal-bed methane wells contaminated underground sources of drinking water. Coal-bed methane tends to be located closer to aquifers than the Marcellus Shale, and those wells are drilled by CNX Gas.

Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the department will take samples and do field inspections if people complain about changes in water.

She recommends that people obtain a sample of their drinking water prior to the start of drilling activities. The matter should be reported to the DEP, not just to the drilling company, she said.

Pitzarella pointed out that while there is oversight of the gas-drilling industry, there are no regulations regarding private drinking wells. Range has found property owners who have accidentally drilled a water well into a mine pool.

And Pitzarella said any risks associated with drilling tend to be surface impacts, such as a truck overturning and spilling its chemical load. In 15 years, there have been 80 such surface spills, but Pitzarella said the effects on local groundwater have been minimal.